About Bonnie Naradzay: As a mother, professional, teacher, and longtime volunteer, leading poetry sessions in prisons, a retirement community, and among the homeless, Bonnie has gathered much of both the lost and found, culminating in the publication of Invited to the Feast, a collection of poems and literary debut coming in her eightieth year.
Her poems appear in AGNI, New Letters (Pushcart Nomination), RHINO, Kenyon Review online, Tampa Review, Florida Review online, EPOCH, Pinch (Pushcart Nomination), American Journal of Poetry, One Art (Pushcart Nomination), Potomac Review, Poetry Miscellany, Dappled Things, The Birmingham Poetry Review, Crab Creek Review, Cumberland River Review, and others. Her poetry manuscript, Invited to the Feast, was published October 28, 2025 by Slant Books. Her essay on friendship was published in the anthology, Deep Beauty, in 2020. At Harvard University in the late 1960’s, she was a student in Robert Lowell’s class, “The King James Bible as English Literature.”
In 2010, Bonnie was awarded the New Orleans MFA poetry prize: a month’s stay with Ezra Pound’s daughter Mary in her castle in Northern Italy. In 2017, she completed the Graduate Institute program at St. John’s College, in Annapolis, Maryland. For years, Bonnie has led weekly poetry sessions at Miriam’s Kitchen, a day shelter for the homeless, and at Street Sense. She also leads regular poetry salons at Ingleside, a retirement center; all are located in Washington DC.
About Invited to the Feast: “Do not hurry your journey,” the poet says midway through this stunning collection. “Better if it lasts for years, so you arrive / laden with all you’ve lost along the way.” Bonnie Naradzay’s journey—as mother, professional, teacher, and longtime volunteer, leading poetry sessions in prisons, a retirement community, and among the homeless—has gathered much of both the lost and found, culminating in the publication of Invited to the Feast, a collection of poems and literary debut coming in her eightieth year.
With wisdom gleaned over time and craft honed over decades, Naradzay presents us with poems that range from dank encampments under city bridges to windswept Irish cliffs and Venetian vistas, finding a common human thread in street talk and the classic tropes of myth and our shared literary heritage.
Invited to the Feast is divided into three sections, each beginning with an epigraph that serves as a guide to reading each part. The poems collected here immerse the reader in the experience of interactive poetry classes, laments for mentors and family members who have gone, and far-flung travels. Free verse consorts with a diversity of forms, including the villanelle, ghazal, pantoum, sestina, and a poem in quatrains with the syllable count of sapphics.
Throughout this collection we sense that, despite loss and brokenness, love is still possible, and every one of us has been invited to this feast. Click here to buy the book!
About our Elaine’s Literary Salon Host, Jeffrey James Higgins: A retired supervisory special agent who writes thrillers, short stories, creative nonfiction, and essays, Jeff has wrestled a suicide bomber, fought the Taliban in combat, and chased terrorists across five continents. He received the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Heroism and the DEA Award of Valor. Jeffrey has been interviewed by CNN, National Geographic, and The New York Times. Learn more: jeffreyjameshiggings.com
Find more of Elaine’s Literary Salon events here. And check back for new episodes of Elaine’s Literary Salon on Inkandescent.tv and listen to all the podcasts on InkandescentRadio.com.
Elaine’s Literary Salon
About Elaine’s Restaurant: A menu filled with delicious modern Mediterranean cuisine selections is sure to please everyone in your party. The dishes are inspired by exquisite food from Alexandria, Egypt — a blend of Middle Eastern and French, Greek, and Italian influences. Elaine’s is named for the owner’s grandmother and is based on a promise she made at the age of 12, growing up in Cairo. “I promised my grandma I would someday own a restaurant and name it after her,” shares Cynthia, who is also an author. She and her husband, bestselling thriller novelist Jeffrey James Higgins, are proud to share my family’s recipes with new friends and families in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.” Located in an 1880s building, it was the previous home for 38 years of the beloved bistro Bilbo Baggins. The newly renovated restaurant is located in the heart of Old Town’s Historic District within sight of the Potomac River and Founders Park, just a few blocks from The Torpedo Factory Art Center, and Old Town Alexandria Waterfront. Make a reservation today: elaines-restaurant.com.